TO ENSURE THEIR CHILDREN have a good rest during the four-hour noon break on the two days of the national college entrance exams, or gaokao, parents will often book hotel rooms for them. As a result many hotels in places where students sit the exams are hiking their room rates by huge amounts during the two days due to the high demand. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

It is necessary for the price authorities to check whether the hotels' soaring prices during the national college entrance exams break the rules. Although the price departments at various levels have reiterated their concerns, few have conducted any investigations into the practice.

Hubei provincial price bureau deserves applause as it has vowed to strictly look into the issue, and fine hotels up to 500,000 yuan ($73,200) if they ignore the bureau's warning and insist on charging exorbitant room rates. The hotels will also be put on a blacklist of dishonest businesses.

Two years ago, after receiving the consumers' complaints, a city price bureau in Northeast China claimed the hotels have the right to adjust their prices according to the demand, as long as the room tariffs are clearly stated.

This statement respects the businesses' rights, while neglecting the consumers' interests and the price bureau's legal duties.

The excessive price surge of the rooms during the national college entrance exams, which costs more than 1,000 yuan during the exam period while only about 100 to 200 yuan during the rest of the year, is suspected of breaking the Price Law, which clearly stipulates that, if the production and purchase costs do not change markedly, profit-oriented exorbitant price hikes are illegal.

The crux of the issue is how much the hotels can raise the price of the rooms during the exams.